SMNTCERR, Chapter 67: Yellow #9.

   After finishing their meal, both of them got up without saying anything.

   Jaeyoung looked at Sangwoo, who took out a black debit card from his wallet at the corner of the table to pay for the meal. Although everything belonging to the other party, including the wallet, clothes, hat, wristwatch, and sneakers, looked clean but old, it seemed that the guy was not picky, but just not extravagant.

   “Come on, let’s go together.”

   At the restaurant entrance, Jaeyoung held Sangwoo’s arm before the other party could leave. They looked at each other. The other party tried to speak first with a hesitant expression, but no matter what, he would refuse, after going here and there with Sangwoo for several months. Jaeyoung began to be able to force the other party, speaking calmly.

   “You threw my shirt yesterday, didn’t you?”

   “So what?”

   “If so, I guess I have to buy more clothes.”

   “I guess so.”

   “I’ll go buy it now, and you have to come and see if it suits me.”

   His expressionless face suddenly turned into a frown. Jaeyoung guessed what the other party was thinking before smiling and reassuring him.

   “If I buy something strange and waste money, you have to take responsibility for it.”

   “What are you talking about?”

   Sangwoo frowned at Jaeyoung before widening his eyes and thinking of something. The other party remained silent for a moment before speaking up.  “I understand. If we’re going, let’s hurry up.”

   Jaeyoung was surprised by his good luck that exceeded his expectations, and walked towards the nearby shopping mall with Sangwoo, who was grinning from ear to ear. This was the first time he had seen the other party show off his good mood. Jaeyoung was intrigued.

   “You’re funny, hyung.” Sangwoo chuckled as they crossed the zebra crossing.

   “Why?”

   “I just asked you to buy it for me. There’s no need to beat around the bush like that.”

   “…”

   “I already said I’ll buy it for you. Do you think I’m lying?”

   Jaeyoung couldn’t control his facial expression and covered his mouth, laughing quietly.

   “Come on, let’s go. I’ll buy myself some nice clothes.”

   The young man jogged to catch up with Sangwoo, who was walking briskly ahead.

   Since it was a weekend, the shopping mall was crowded. Sangwoo, who looked like a student, didn’t seem to fit in with the perfume and cosmetics stores that were bustling behind them, so they climbed down the escalator to the sports equipment and casual wear zone on the third floor.

   After walking in and out of a few stores and scanning their surroundings, Jaeyoung dragged Sangwoo into a jeans outlet before being scolded for looking at jeans despite leaving his t-shirt behind. He quickly looked for a pair of usable jeans, looking for bright colors as the main criteria. When he picked out a pair of gray jeans that were almost white, Sangwoo’s facial expression didn’t seem to be pleased.

   “What’s wrong with these?”

   “The knee is torn.”

   “Just that?”

   Although it was a small flaw that was almost invisible, the other party always seemed to notice it and was dissatisfied. Jaeyoung gave up on that pair of jeans and looked for another, but no matter which one he picked, there was always some defect, such as an odd-shaped pocket or a stiff zipper.

   “Here, this one is okay.”

   “That one is okay too.”

   He picked up a plain beige pair of trousers and a black denim pair, draped them over his arm, and prepared to tell the cashier to ring them up. Meanwhile, Jaeyoung was left gaping at a particular pair of pants that caught his eye.

   They were a light blue pair of slim-fit jeans that resembled the color of the sky. He measured them with his eyes and quickly inspected every part of them – one button, no rips or tears, a normal pocket, and the stitching looked tight and good. If he folded the pants a little to reveal the ankle, it felt like blood was rushing to his head. Jaeyoung was excited and quickly went into the fitting room to change and show the other party.

   “Sangwoo! Sangwoo! Look at this, is this pretty?”

   Sangwoo, who was hugging his chest and looking elsewhere, walked closer and looked at Jaeyoung’s lower half.

   “It’s too bright… but it’s okay for you to wear. But it seems a bit small, buy one size bigger than this.”

   This was considered a special permission… Jaeyoung smiled and went back to change his clothes and came out again holding the three pants to the cashier. Sangwoo took out his card and made a gesture to hand it over. Jaeyoung pushed his arm to the side and handed his own credit card to the salesperson.

   “What’s going on?”

   “You will be buying something more expensive.”

   Sangwoo’s face turned sour, but there was no time now… Jaeyoung grabbed the other party’s shoulder, and they headed to another store. After walking past several stores without finding anything, they arrived at a high-quality Tshirt store. There were various T-shirts hanging on racks, walls, and mannequins. Jaeyoung grabbed Sangwoo’s shoulder, who seemed uninterested in this store, and directed him to look at the hanging T-shirts.

   “You should look too, maybe there’s something you can wear.”

   “Anything looks good on you.”

   He didn’t mean it that way. Jaeyoung kept picking out T-shirts one after another – a red T-shirt, a cute T-shirt with a pocket on the chest, a formal Tshirt with buttons, and a yellow T-shirt that reminded him of a baby chick. Although he wanted to make the other party try on every T-shirt, Sangwoo criticized everything Jaeyoung picked out.

   “There’s too much pattern.”

   “The sleeves are weird.”

   “It’s too short.”

   “Too thick.”

   “Too thin.”

   The other party argued and refused to cooperate as expected. Jaeyoung couldn’t help but pick out two or three white T-shirts, sorting out the ones that were too thin or too thick, had faded patterns, or missing stitches, until only one white V-neck T-shirt was left. Jaeyoung examined the T-shirt carefully. It was made of good quality fabric, had a comfortable design that revealed his collarbone, and had black lines around the deep neckline.

   ‘Is this the shirt made for Chu Sangwoo?’

   Jaeyoung tried the shirt on Sangwoo’s body. Then he immediately picked up a green and red striped shirt of the same design and paid for it. This time, Sangwoo missed the opportunity to pay again. Once out of the store, he complained quietly.

   “Why did you bring me here if it’s going to be like this?”

   “You’re the carry thing one.” Jaeyoung replied, sending all the shopping bags to Sangwoo. Although he had a dissatisfied expression, Sangwoo took the bag and followed quietly, checking the time on his phone. His heart was getting hotter. Jaeyoung walked into a large men’s clothing brand store and explored the men’s section.

   “Welcome! May I know which style you prefer?”

   The male staff walked over to greet them cheerfully. When Sangwoo pointed to Jaeyoung, the staff said that there was a suitable item for the customer and took out various styles from the shelf.

   “What style are you interested in?”

   “I want something that looks good.”

   “Then, how about this one? This is the most popular short-legged underwear style among teenagers nowadays. It is made of special fine fiber fabric, has a good butt-lifting effect, and feels tight. The edge has a highlight.

   Touch the fabric. It feels very sexy, doesn’t it? I think it suits you very well.”

   Jaeyoung turned to look at Sangwoo, who had been standing far away without pointing or moving. When he was sure that the other party was not going anywhere, he pulled out the short-legged underwear that the staff handed over to him. It was a good quality underwear with no highlights other than the brand name embroidered on the edge. The fabric was smooth and comfortable to wear. Jaeyoung aimed at the underwear before speaking hesitantly.

   “You are quite big down there. Is this not too small?”

   Although the staff looked at him like he was crazy, he recommended size L. After paying for a set of five underwear, he threw the box to Sangwoo, who took it and put it in the bag.

   “Why did you buy pants? And taking my stuff should be enough.”

   “It’s my business.”

   With little time left, while feeling regretful and preparing to leave, Jaeyoung was stopped in front of the wall of the store full of baseball caps, making it impossible for him to pass by casually. Jaeyoung dragged Sangwoo, who was looking at his wristwatch, to stop in front of the paradise of caps.

   “Choose quickly, please.”

   “There are already so many caps. Should I buy something else?”

   What did he expect from the other party? Jaeyoung looked at the display shelf carefully, cutting out logos of big baseball teams, special shapes, cutting them out, too flashy colors, cutting them out, black caps are worn every day.

   Cut them out, cut them out, cut them out, so there were only a few caps left.

   “What about this one?”

   Jaeyoung picked up the white snapback cap on top to look at it. Although there was an abbreviation of the name of the baseball team pinned on it, it was difficult to see because it was white like the background if the fabric was not too thin or too thick, and the shape was beautiful.

   “What about this one?”

   “It’s okay.”

   “Really?”

   Although he chose his clothes confidently, knowing Sangwoo’s size well, for the cap, it was difficult to guess without trying it on. Jaeyoung quickly took off the black cap before Sangwoo could refuse and put on the white cap.

   ‘What is it?’

   Jaeyoung stared at Sangwoo standing still, just changing the color of the cap, he felt that the appearance of the other party looked fresher. Although it seemed a bit big, just adjusting the snapback strap should be fine.

   “It suits you well, it’s cute.”

   Jaeyoung tried to persuade himself that he wanted to hug the person in front of him right now. Then he took off the cap again, quickly paid and stuffed the cap into a bag. Meanwhile, Sangwoo only looked at his wristwatch with an uneasy face.

   “All set. Let’s go now.”

   “You must be rich. You can buy unnecessary clothes like this all at once.”

   “It’s necessary.”

   Sangwoo laughed and teased openly, making those who wore tight sevenpiece shirts and three-piece pants feel ridiculous. Hearing his words, they must have felt amused. Now, there were only thirty minutes left before parttime work began. They hurriedly descended the stairs to the first floor, secretly thinking that the other party might crack a joke about what they were wearing, but Sangwoo did not say anything except for opening an app on his phone to check the bus schedule.

   “My legs hurt so much, please hail me a taxi.”

   “Did the person with the sore legs walk around shopping for clothes for an hour and a half?”

   Jaeyoung pretended to be sick with a pitiful face, he coughed for a moment, and when he straightened up, he met Sangwoo who was staring at him smoking.

   “Is it only your legs? How about your lungs, with all that screaming last night.”

   “[Ka-hk]! Ka… ugh!”

   “Are you really not feeling well?”

   “Ugh.”

   “It’s okay. I can’t help you anyway.”

   Sangwoo stood on the roadside and hailed a taxi himself before turning to call Jaeyoung to get in the car. When they got in the car, he saw the other party trying to leave, so he pulled the other’s arm and brought him into the taxi.

   Jaeyoung quickly closed the door and told the driver to head to the train station near the game store. Then the taxi started moving. Sangwoo sat up from where he was lying on the seat and complained.

   “Huh. Really… Why are you so irritable today? And I keep speaking ambiguously.”

   “Why?”

   “I know that you hyung is always like this, but today you are worse than usual.”

   It’s no use. When he thought there was no time left, he became impatient. Jaeyoung leaned back on the seat with a bitter feeling. When he looked at the bag of clothes, he suddenly felt suffocated. This was not enough. Jaeyoung wanted to give Sangwoo more than this.

   “Sangwooya.”

   “What’s wrong?”

   “Nothing.”

   He rubbed his wrist with a calm face before turning away.

   Jaeyoung wanted to try choosing a long coat for Sangwoo to wear in the autumn, a down jacket for him to wear when climbing mountains in the winter, and a cardigan for him to wear in the fruit leaf season. He wanted to buy various types of sneakers, in various colors, and from various brands for the smallfooted person like a child to wear. He wanted to take the other party to a hair salon and try different hairstyles.

   “I had noodles today. Next time, I want to eat Jampang [1], a ten-dish set, Peking duck, curry, Burmese tea leaf salad, Budae [2] steamed fish, I want to eat them all together. Just thinking about it, Jaeyoung felt breathless.”

   “But today was a good surprise.”

   “What?”

   “It’s a real holiday, but so many people like to dress up and gather together.

   I was surprised.”

   Jaeyoung smiled slightly and glanced at Sangwoo. Sangwoo sat still, then raised his hand above his head and pulled Jaeyoung’s hand down to hold it. When the other party naturally intertwined their fingers, the sadness and regret they received from that party yesterday were erased. Jaeyoung looked out the window with a calm face, but his expectations made his heart beat faster. If this isn’t a taxi, he would probably park the car now. Then he pushed the other party to lie down and kissed him.

   “Being with you hyung, it feels like I’ve tried something new all the time, because when I bought clothes with my mom, it didn’t take this long.”

   “So is it good or not?”

   “There are good and bad and if I have to be honest… Oh, we’re here. I’ll get off here.”

   Jaeyoung didn’t hear the word “good” because the taxi arrived near the internet cafe. Sangwoo opened his wallet, took out two ten-thousand won bills, and handed them to the taxi driver.

   “This is for the fare. Please send this person home.”

   After speaking, he handed two ten-thousand won bills to Jaeyoung.

   “This is for the T-shirt. I’ll go now.”

   The other party is also meticulous. Jaeyoung took the money and put it in his wallet before putting all the shopping bags in Sangwoo’s hand.

   “These are all yours, take them.”

   “What?”

   “I bought them for you to wear.”

   Sangwoo was half-standing and half-sitting at the open taxi door, looking at the shopping bag without putting it down, and then looked at Jaeyoung with a tense face.

   “No, I can’t accept this. Take it back.”

   “You sound like Geum Jan Di [3].”

   Jaeyoung took out several torn receipts from his pants pocket and pushed Sangwoo out with the shopping bag.

   “That’s for last night’s accommodation, have a good rest.”

   Then he closed the door in front of Sangwoo, whose face was painted with shock until he couldn’t speak. After giving his address, the taxi drove away again. Outside the window, the silhouette of Sangwoo, who looked like a broken robot, gradually receded until the image of the other party became small and insignificant. Jaeyoung then turned his gaze away from the window and sat up straight, the sense of relief and disappointment he felt last night fading away unnoticed.

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[1]           Jampang, spicy seafood soup noodles.

[2]           Budaegiji-gae, Korean hot pot.

[3]           Geum Jan-di, the heroine of the Korean drama “Boys Over Flowers”, F4, Korean version.

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